Legal & General (L&G), the London-based pension and investment management giant managing $1.5 trillion in assets, is planning to enter the expanding field of blockchain-based tokenization. This trend has gained traction among major financial players.

Tokenization, which involves representing traditional assets like US Treasuries-backed money-market funds via blockchain tokens, has seen growing interest from traditional finance firms, spurred by BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, with its BUIDL fund on the Ethereum blockchain. Other firms like Franklin Templeton, State Street, and Abrdn are also participating in this emerging space.

“We are evaluating ways to make the Legal & General Investment Management Liquidity funds available in tokenized format,” said Ed Wicks, the global head of trading at L&G, in an email response regarding the firm’s plans.

“Digitization of the funds industry is key to improving efficiency, reducing cost, and providing a broader range of investment solutions to a wider audience,” he added.

L&G's engagement with blockchain technology goes back to 2019, when it announced plans to use Amazon Web Services' managed blockchain to handle bulk annuities for its insurance sector.